US, Israel punish Turkey’s Erdogan

(President Erdogan’s supporters celebrate election victory, Ankara, April 1, 2019) “Turkey is a global “swing state.” It has a large and growing economy, a strategic location, a democratic government, and mixed views about prevailing international arrangements. Like the other three global swing states — Brazil, India, and Indonesia — Turkey’s choices will influence whether today’s …

Trump’s Golan is a megalomaniac’s own goal

(Syria defending against Israeli missiles attacking Damascus, January 2019) The US President Donald Trump’s decree on March 26 granting official US recognition to Israel’s illegal annexation of Syria’s Golan Heights does not create any new fact on the ground.  Trump’s motivations are fairly clear — boost Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s prospects in the April election …

Trump’s Golan move shows US contempt for international law and rules-based order

(Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, seized from Syria in 1967) The US President Donald Trump’s tweet on Thursday that the United States should back Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, seized from Syria in 1967, didn’t quite come like a bolt from the blue. There has been talk about such a thing for sometime. Last December, the …

US kept ‘cool’ during India-Pak crisis. This is why

(Indian soldiers patrol along the fence at the India-Pakistan border) With the India-Pakistan standoff somewhat waning, the time is ripe to put under the scanner the stance taken by the Trump administration through the crisis situation developing since the February 14 terrorist attack in Pulwama.  On the face of it, Washington was strongly supportive of …

Iraq seeks US presence but rejects occupation

(Iran’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif personally briefs Iraq’s Grand Ayatollah Grand Ayatollah Bashir Hussain Najafi at his home in Najaf, regarding the Iran nuclear deal, before a visit to the Imam Ali shrine in the city, 27 July 2015.)  The US President Donald Trump has been struggling to terminate America’s ‘endless wars’, but without much …

‘America First’ means nuclear superiority

(Russia test-fires enhanced version of RS-24 Yars thermonuclear intercontinental missile, 6th February, 2019.) The US president’s annual State of the Union address traditionally focuses on domestic issues but it also throws some light on the foreign policy priorities. President Trump’s speech on Tuesday adhered to the pattern and if anything, the portions on foreign policy …

Trump has mixed signals for Astana partners

(Turkey deploys battle tanks on border with Syria.) Trump’s tweets earlier today regarding Syrian withdrawal plan came out of the blue – “Starting the long overdue pullout from Syria while hitting the little remaining ISIS territorial caliphate hard, and from many directions. Will attack again from existing nearby base if it reforms. Will devastate Turkey …